[Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.28"] [Round "10.1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Keymer, Vincent"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2859"] [BlackElo "2696"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "96"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,96,25,-25,-8,4,6,6,20,-27,-18,-4,39,32,29,3,31,3,26,26,37,28,28,36,36,40,36,36,39,30,21,40,37,15,16,19,23,22,42,42,50,36,58,64,64,56,67,56,62,70,67,57,78,56,69,65,60,-6,82,56,58,56,51,56,52,44,33,55,62,60,69,17,82,78,67,60,58,58,96,100,100,92,87,88,91,93,91,89,97,97,104,101,106,101,192,261,460,502,624] Finally, the Keymer Express is derailed. But only for a moment!} 1. c4 Nf6 2. d4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 c6 6. Ne5 Bb4+ 7. Bd2 Be7 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. Na3 Qa5+ $146 (10... c3 11. bxc3 Bxe5 12. dxe5 Qa5 13. Qb3 Qxe5 14. Nc4 Qc5 15. a4 Nd7 16. a5 Rb8 17. O-O Ne5 18. Nxe5 Qxe5 19. Qa3 c5 20. f4 Qc7 21. c4 O-O 22. g4 Rd8 23. g5 hxg5 24. fxg5 b5 25. axb6 axb6 26. g6 fxg6 27. Qe3 Qd6 28. Qg5 Bb7 29. Bxb7 Rxb7 30. Ra3 Rf8 31. Rxf8+ Qxf8 32. Qxg6 Re7 33. Qe4 Qf5 34. Qa8+ Kh7 35. Rf3 Qg4+ 36. Rg3 Qxe2 37. Rh3+ Kg6 38. Rg3+ Kh7 39. Rh3+ Kg6 40. Rg3+ {½-½ Kucuksari,K (2310)-Smith,A (2469) SWE-ch Eskilstuna 2019 (1)}) 11. Qd2 Qxd2+ 12. Kxd2 O-O (12... Nd7 $142) 13. Naxc4 Rd8 14. Ke3 Nd7 15. Rhd1 Nb6 16. f4 Be7 17. Rac1 f6 18. Nd3 Kf7 (18... e5 $1 19. dxe5 Nxc4+ 20. Rxc4 Be6 21. Ra4 fxe5 22. fxe5 a5 $44 {Black's bishops compensate for the pawn.}) 19. Na5 $14 Rb8 20. Bf3 Bd6 21. Kf2 Nd5 22. a3 Bc7 23. b4 $1 Bxa5 24. bxa5 $16 Bd7 25. e4 Nc7 26. Ke3 Be8 27. Nb4 Ke7 28. e5 Nd5+ $6 {It's hard not to play this, to get rid of one of Black's passive pieces, but the resulting N vs. B imbalance is even more in White's favor.} 29. Bxd5 cxd5 (29... exd5 $2 30. a6 $18) 30. Rc7+ Rd7 31. Rdc1 $16 {/+-} fxe5 32. dxe5 Kd8 33. R7c5 d4+ 34. Kd2 Bg6 35. a6 Be4 36. Rb5 b6 37. Nc6+ Bxc6 38. Rxc6 Rc8 $2 (38... Ke7) 39. Rxe6 $18 (39. Rxc8+ Kxc8 40. a4 $18 {is even better.}) 39... d3 40. Rd6 Rxd6 41. exd6 Kd7 42. Rf5 Ke6 $1 43. d7 $1 Rd8 44. Re5+ $1 Kd6 (44... Kxd7 45. Rd5+ Ke7 46. Rxd8 Kxd8 47. Kxd3 $18 {is completely hopeless.}) 45. Re3 Kc6 46. Rxd3 Kb5 47. Ke3 Kxa6 48. Ke4 Kb7 (48... Kb7 49. Ke5 Kc6 50. Ke6 $18) 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.28"] [Round "10.2"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Fedoseev, Vladimir3"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D43"] [WhiteElo "2766"] [BlackElo "2688"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,67,20,20,20,20,20,20,20,14,45,-1,8,21,16,23,22,-14,15,-1,-22,-18,-18,-18,7,0,28,6,25,33,38,33,51,50,64,59,23,34,34,21,200,220,220,231,253,247,244,229,229,242,242,202,214,194,212,203,245,248,260,282,294,273,302,383,395,401,514,552,770,717] Fedoseev has had a great event, but like Keymer on board one, he finds a shark too big for his boat.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 c6 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bf4 Bf5 7. e3 Nbd7 8. h3 Qb6 9. Bd3 Qxb2 10. Bxf5 Qxc3+ 11. Kf1 Qa3 12. Rb1 Nb6 $146 {Not bad, but when in doubt, follow the correspondence game.} (12... Qxa2 13. h4 Be7 14. h5 Ne4 15. Bxd7+ Kxd7 16. Rxb7+ Kc8 17. Rc7+ Kd8 18. Qe2 Qa1+ 19. Qe1 Qa6+ 20. Kg1 Rc8 21. Rxc8+ Kxc8 22. Ne5 f6 23. Nf7 Rf8 {0-1 Perevozchikov,V (2253)-Cade,S (2305) FICGS class M 000094 email FICGS email 2021 (1)}) 13. Qc2 Be7 14. g4 $14 O-O (14... g6 $142) 15. Kg2 $16 Rae8 16. Ne5 (16. h4 $142) 16... Kh8 $6 (16... Bd6 $1 17. Nd7 Bxf4 18. Nxf8 Qxf8 19. exf4 Qd6 $14 {/?}) 17. h4 Bd6 18. h5 Ne4 $4 {Even in rapid, it's a blunder.} 19. Bxe4 dxe4 20. Rxb6 $1 axb6 21. Nc4 {Black's position isn't just bad; it's hopeless.} Qa8 22. Bxd6 Qc8 23. Bxf8 (23. Kg3 {is even better, but taking is fine.}) 23... Qxg4+ 24. Kf1 Rxf8 25. Ne5 Qf5 26. Rh4 f6 27. Nc4 Qd5 28. Nxb6 Qb5+ 29. Nc4 f5 30. Qb3 Qa6 31. Kg2 c5 32. Ne5 {Threatening both 33.Nf7+ and 33.Ng6+.} Qf6 33. Rh3 {Renewing the threat of Ng6+.} Qg5+ 34. Kh2 {Still threatening Ng6+, and Nf7+ is back on the table. Time to resign.} 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.28"] [Round "10.4"] [White "Artemiev, Vladislav"] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D31"] [WhiteElo "2701"] [BlackElo "2722"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "261"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,261,20,-11,14,14,14,14,44,21,16,16,22,22,33,24,14,10,8,-13,-5,-19,-2,-23,10,11,4,-21,5,-6,-10,-1,12,12,23,12,34,1,11,6,-4,-12,-19,-19,-15,-52,-8,-51,-52,-65,-47,-42,-49,-65,-70,-63,-62,-72,-61,-78,-93,-97,-77,-84,-8,-6,-2,-37,-22,-22,0,-8,-15,-10,3,10,10,10,9,2,9,2,0,0,0,0,0,-7,-5,0,12,13,12,5,12,6,13,11,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,0,0,0,0,0,91,91,91,91,91,91,91,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,97,98,98,98,98,98,99,99,99,99,99,99,99,99,99,99,99,84,78,83,79,79,93,95,136,115,118,116,116,122,133,133,133,116,116,101,131,138,143,140,150,143,143,143,143,121,126,133,140,90,152,157,155,138,161,168,182,173,175,168,169,169,181,183,201,209,225,209,211,203,209,206,210,198,198,200,200,200,200,174,229,224,216,216,270,270,270,270,263,263,263,263,263,263,263,268,302,299,409,385,408,415,415,415,415,415,415,327,361,299,310,302,390,302,331,303,364,300,363,363,363,285,304,310,314,278,314,278,352,337,352,357,360,357,418,364,992,992] If it weren't for what this game meant for the next round's pairings, and what happened there, I wouldn't include it. But think about it this way: if Erigaisi hadn't finally lost the game with his very last move, it's possible that the tournament would have had much less drama than it had.} 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 c6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 Bf5 6. e3 Bd6 7. Nge2 Nf6 8. Bxd6 Qxd6 9. Ng3 Bg6 10. h4 h5 11. Bd3 Bxd3 12. Qxd3 Nbd7 13. e4 dxe4 14. Ngxe4 Nxe4 15. Qxe4+ Qe7 16. O-O-O Qxe4 17. Nxe4 Rh6 18. Rh3 Kf8 19. Rb3 b6 20. Re3 Nf6 21. Nc3 Rd8 22. Rd2 Ne8 23. Kc2 Rhd6 24. Red3 Nc7 25. g3 a5 26. Ne4 R6d7 27. Nc3 b5 28. a3 a4 29. Ne2 Ne6 30. Kc3 Rd5 31. Kc2 Rf5 32. Nc3 g6 33. Kd1 Nc7 34. Ke2 Nd5 35. Nxd5 Rfxd5 36. Rc2 R8d6 37. Rdc3 Re6+ 38. Re3 Red6 39. Rec3 Re6+ 40. Re3 Rdd6 41. Rxe6 Rxe6+ 42. Kd3 Ke7 43. d5 cxd5 44. Rc7+ Kd6 45. Rxf7 Kc5 46. Rc7+ Kd6 47. Rc8 Rf6 48. f4 Re6 49. Rf8 Kc5 50. Rc8+ Kd6 51. Rf8 Kc5 52. f5 gxf5 53. Rxf5 Rg6 54. Rg5 Rxg5 55. hxg5 Kd6 56. Kd4 Ke6 57. g6 Kf6 58. Kxd5 Kxg6 59. Kc5 Kf5 60. Kxb5 Kg4 61. Kxa4 Kxg3 62. b4 h4 63. b5 h3 64. b6 h2 65. b7 h1=Q 66. b8=Q+ Kg4 67. Qd6 Qa8+ 68. Kb5 Qb7+ 69. Ka5 Qa7+ 70. Kb5 Qb7+ 71. Qb6 Qd5+ 72. Qc5 Qb7+ 73. Kc4 Qa6+ 74. Kc3 Kh3 75. Kb3 Qb7+ 76. Qb4 Qd5+ 77. Qc4 Qb7+ 78. Kc3 Qg7+ 79. Qd4 Qc7+ 80. Kd2 Kg2 81. a4 Qa5+ 82. Kd3 Kh2 83. Qh4+ Kg2 84. Qe4+ Kg3 85. Qc6 Qf5+ 86. Kc3 Qe5+ 87. Kb3 Qb8+ 88. Qb5 Qg8+ 89. Kb4 Qf8+ 90. Qc5 Qb8+ 91. Kc3 Qh8+ 92. Qd4 Qc8+ 93. Kd2 Qa8 94. Qe5+ Kg2 95. a5 Qc6 96. Kd3 Qf3+ 97. Kd2 Qc6 98. Kd3 Qf3+ 99. Kd4 Qd1+ 100. Kc5 Qc2+ 101. Kd6 Qg6+ 102. Ke7 Qc6 103. Qe2+ Kg1 104. Qe3+ Kh1 105. Qb6 Qe4+ 106. Kd8 Qd5+ 107. Kc7 Qe5+ 108. Kb7 Qe7+ 109. Ka8 Qe8+ 110. Ka7 Qa4 111. a6 Kh2 112. Qb2+ Kg1 113. Kb6 Qd1 114. Qg7+ Kf1 115. Qf6+ Kg1 116. Qg6+ Kh2 117. Kc7 Qa1 118. Qd6+ Kh1 119. Qd5+ Kh2 120. Qd6+ Kh1 121. Qc6+ Kh2 122. Kb8 Qh8+ 123. Kb7 Qb2+ 124. Qb6 Qg2+ 125. Kb8 Qg8+ 126. Ka7 Qg7+ 127. Ka8 Qg2+ 128. Qb7 Qd2 129. a7 Kg1 130. Qb6+ {So far, so good. It's a miserable defensive task, but one Erigaisi has successfully coped with up to now. Here both 130...Kg2 and 130...Kh1 would maintain an officially drawn position.} Kh2 $2 {A simple error, but after 130 moves nothing is simple.} 131. Kb8 {Black has on checks: d6 and d8 are covered, while 131...Qf4+ fails to 132.Qc7. White queens, and it's over.} 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.28"] [Round "10.7"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Tomashevsky, Evgeny"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2694"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,59,46,30,30,30,18,2,19,13,19,-20,11,5,32,14,17,18,30,26,33,7,4,-6,30,4,30,29,28,24,12,23,27,22,17,20,25,25,19,-33,-31,-33,16,8,2,8,4,5,5,-2,17,10,9,39,537,555,1129,1178,1215,1249,1249,1278]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Nbd2 Nd7 7. O-O O-O 8. Nc4 Re8 9. a4 b6 10. Kh1 a5 11. Be3 Bd6 12. Ng1 Nf8 13. Ne2 Ng6 14. f4 exf4 15. Nxd6 cxd6 16. Nxf4 d5 17. Nxg6 hxg6 18. Qf3 Be6 19. e5 d4 20. Bf4 g5 21. Bd2 g4 22. Qg3 Qe7 23. Rae1 Rad8 24. h4 Rd5 25. Bg5 Qc7 26. h5 $11 {If you like blunders - others' blunders, anyway - you'll love Black's next move.} Bc8 $4 27. e6 $1 {Not even the only winning move, but it's an obvious crusher, threatening both 28.Qxc7 and 28.exf7+.} Qxg3 28. exf7+ Kh7 29. fxe8=Q Rxg5 30. Rf8 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.28"] [Round "11.1"] [White "Artemiev, Vladislav"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E11"] [WhiteElo "2701"] [BlackElo "2859"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,67,18,20,21,14,13,10,43,41,40,29,36,40,39,40,48,44,55,38,51,55,67,20,43,15,31,-9,28,38,30,3,-2,3,5,0,0,0,-12,-5,6,-6,-12,-17,-7,-15,0,-15,-8,-7,-7,-14,162,187,186,200,187,171,175,174,180,191,191,192,259,266,270,278,286,298]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Bxd2+ 5. Qxd2 d5 {Carlsen plays this line with some regularity, but I don't know why. It puts so little pressure on his opponents that it's far more difficult for him to win from here than from more complex opening variations. It scores relatively poorly on average, and his results with it haven't been fantastic either. All that said, his loss in this game cannot be attributed to the variation.} 6. Nc3 O-O 7. e3 Qe7 8. Rc1 dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 10. O-O cxd4 $146 11. Nxd4 Bd7 12. Be2 Nc6 13. Bf3 Nxd4 14. Qxd4 Rfd8 15. Qc4 Rac8 16. Qe2 Bc6 17. Rfd1 Bxf3 18. Qxf3 Qb4 19. Qe2 g6 20. h3 Kg7 21. Rc2 Rxd1+ 22. Qxd1 Qc5 23. Rc1 Qe5 24. Qb3 b6 25. Rd1 {Not much has happened, and this very equal position would normally result in a draw. Normally--but not after Black's next move.} Ne4 $4 {If White trades, the position is still even, though Black's position looks a tad more active. But the trade that will ensue isn't the one Black had in mind.} 26. f4 $1 {Oops.} Qf5 27. g4 {White wins at least the exchange, and there's no way for Black to exploit the air between White's kingside pawns and his king.} Rxc3 28. gxf5 Rxb3 29. axb3 exf5 30. Rd7 a6 31. Ra7 Nd6 32. Rxa6 Nc8 33. Ra8 Ne7 34. Rd8 {Black will lose the b-pawn, after which the task will be trivial.} 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.28"] [Round "11.4"] [White "Keymer, Vincent"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A06"] [WhiteElo "2696"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "119"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,119,20,20,20,20,15,11,15,16,28,30,20,-5,-3,-21,-28,-20,-22,-11,-12,-11,-7,-31,38,30,23,28,48,15,15,29,26,20,30,13,71,14,9,43,89,70,70,67,67,80,139,133,106,112,140,140,192,155,191,158,204,213,277,275,271,288,276,278,306,304,303,199,198,203,214,221,215,211,228,181,189,185,202,206,226,231,253,250,264,264,264,264,269,282,306,234,326,322,334,357,434,345,345,325,345,362,366,247,261,258,257,221,253,325,419,427,427,426,426,426,434,437,441,445,445,509] Having had his incredible run of success interrupted by Magnus Carlsen in the last round, Keymer just dusts himself off and takes up where he left off, defeating another world-class grandmaster. More than that - he just outplays him from beginning to end. It is an extremely impressive performance by Keymer, not just in this game but in the whole tournament.} 1. Nf3 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 b6 5. cxd5 exd5 6. g3 Bd6 7. Bg2 O-O 8. O-O Bb7 9. b3 Nbd7 10. Bb2 Nc5 11. d3 a6 12. Rc1 Re8 13. Ne2 Ne6 14. Ned4 Nxd4 15. Nxd4 c5 16. Nf5 Bf8 17. Qf3 Re6 18. g4 g6 19. g5 Ne8 20. Nh6+ Bxh6 21. gxh6 Qg5 22. d4 Rc8 23. Qg3 Qxh6 24. Bh3 Re4 25. Bxc8 Bxc8 26. f3 Re7 27. dxc5 bxc5 28. Rfe1 f6 29. Rxc5 Bb7 30. Bd4 Kf7 31. Rec1 g5 32. Rc7 Qf8 33. Bc5 Rxc7 34. Qxc7+ Nxc7 35. Bxf8 Ne6 36. Bc5 d4 37. Bxd4 Bxf3 38. b4 f5 39. Kf2 Bb7 40. Be5 h5 41. Rd1 Bc6 42. Rd6 Bb5 43. a4 Bxa4 44. Rxa6 Bb5 45. Rb6 Bd3 46. Rb7+ Kg6 47. Re7 Nf8 48. Rg7+ Kh6 49. Rc7 Kg6 50. b5 Ne6 51. Rc6 Kf7 52. b6 Ba6 53. Rc3 Bb7 54. Ra3 Nc5 55. Ra7 Ke6 56. Bd4 Ne4+ 57. Ke1 Nd6 58. Bc5 Be4 59. Bxd6 Kxd6 60. Rg7 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.28"] [Round "12.1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E10"] [WhiteElo "2859"] [BlackElo "2766"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,62,21,20,21,5,14,15,15,-18,20,8,30,16,13,-14,-3,-7,-13,-17,-7,-12,-8,-8,-15,-10,-10,-19,13,24,25,22,30,19,19,7,10,20,11,15,22,22,27,-13,-17,-54,-58,-63,-53,-41,-39,-48,-44,-54,-39,-62,-51,-53,-55,-51,-53,-51,-51,-38,-38] A rematch of sorts - not just from the 2018 World Championship, but from the recent Speed Chess Championship where Carlsen flattened Caruana with an undefeated 22-4 score.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 a5 6. Bg2 O-O 7. Qc1 b6 8. cxd5 exd5 9. O-O Ba6 10. a3 Bxd2 11. Qxd2 c5 12. Nc3 Nc6 13. Rfd1 Rc8 14. dxc5 bxc5 15. Nxd5 Nxd5 16. Qxd5 Bxe2 17. Rd2 Bxf3 18. Qxd8 Rfxd8 19. Rxd8+ Rxd8 20. Bxf3 Ne5 21. Kg2 g6 22. Rc1 Rd2 23. Rxc5 Nd3 24. Rc8+ Kg7 25. Kg1 Rxb2 26. Rc3 Nxf2 27. h4 h5 28. Rc5 Nh3+ 29. Kh1 Nf2+ 30. Kg1 Nh3+ 31. Kh1 Nf2+ {A very easy hold for Caruana, but it still left him half a point behind the leaders entering the last round.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.28"] [Round "12.2"] [White "Fedoseev, Vladimir3"] [Black "Artemiev, Vladislav"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D52"] [WhiteElo "2688"] [BlackElo "2701"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "179"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,179,20,20,20,20,30,16,27,0,53,-2,-2,-10,28,1,44,26,32,-5,15,11,6,5,5,0,-5,-8,-9,-21,0,0,0,-14,10,-29,-11,-17,-1,1,7,5,27,5,0,-6,0,13,13,34,32,32,32,29,42,28,39,26,35,26,36,63,68,21,26,33,20,14,-6,-10,0,0,-15,-29,-10,18,-37,-10,-18,-1,0,-89,-82,-88,-81,-85,-62,-112,-110,-123,-114,-108,-107,-104,-102,-98,-102,-101,-108,-128,-130,-133,-133,-133,-106,-108,-95,-96,-96,-83,-85,-90,-89,-105,-105,-85,-93,-96,-72,-64,-64,-79,-76,-72,-72,-72,0,-97,-88,-91,-85,-112,-59,-35,-14,-102,-99,-99,-101,-105,-104,-106,-104,-104,-86,-86,-79,-79,-78,-84,-75,-78,-75,-75,-84,-84,-94,-91,-48,-47,-67,-71,-23,-68,-43,-43,-29,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0] Had Artemiev won this game, he would have entered the last round in clear first. He pressed, reaching a pawn-up ending, but couldn't put Fedoseev away. Nevertheless, he entered the last round tied for first (Fedoseev was half a point back).} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 Be7 8. Qc2 O-O 9. Rd1 b6 10. cxd5 cxd5 11. Bd3 Bb7 12. O-O Rc8 13. Qb1 a6 14. a4 Bd6 15. Rc1 Qe7 16. Rfe1 Rfe8 17. Re2 Qf8 18. Rec2 Rc7 19. Bg3 Bxg3 20. hxg3 Rec8 21. b4 Qd6 22. a5 bxa5 23. bxa5 Qa3 24. Ra2 Qd6 25. Ne2 Rxc1+ 26. Nxc1 Rb8 27. Rb2 Qc7 28. Qa1 Bc8 29. Rc2 Qd8 30. Qc3 Ne8 31. Ne5 Nxe5 32. dxe5 Bd7 33. Ne2 Bb5 34. Ra2 Bxd3 35. Qxd3 Qc7 36. Qxa6 Rb1+ 37. Kh2 Qxe5 38. Nf4 g5 39. Qd3 Ra1 40. Rxa1 Qxa1 41. Nh5 Qxa5 42. Qd4 Qc7 43. f4 Qe7 44. Qe5 gxf4 45. gxf4 Qh4+ 46. Kg1 Kh7 47. Qb8 Qxh5 48. Qxe8 Kg7 49. Qe7 Qd1+ 50. Kf2 Qc2+ 51. Kg3 Qc1 52. Qa7 Qc3 53. Kf3 Qd3 54. Qa1+ Kh7 55. Qf6 Qg6 56. Qe5 h5 57. g3 Qg4+ 58. Kf2 Kg6 59. Qh8 Qf5 60. Qg8+ Kf6 61. Qh8+ Ke7 62. Qc3 Qg6 63. Qe5 Qc2+ 64. Kf3 f6 65. Qd4 Kf7 66. Qa7+ Kg6 67. Qe7 Qe4+ 68. Kf2 Qc2+ 69. Kf3 Qc6 70. Kf2 Qc8 71. Kf3 Qg8 72. Qc7 Qf7 73. Qc2+ Kg7 74. Qc6 Kh7 75. Qc2+ Kh6 76. Qc8 e5 77. Qf5 Qg6 78. Qe6 Qe4+ 79. Kf2 Qc2+ 80. Kf1 Qd3+ 81. Kf2 Qd2+ 82. Kf1 Kg6 83. fxe5 Qc1+ 84. Kf2 Qc2+ 85. Kg1 Qb1+ 86. Kf2 Qb2+ 87. Kf3 Qxe5 88. Qg8+ Kh6 89. Qh8+ Kg6 90. Qg8+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.28"] [Round "12.3"] [White "Keymer, Vincent"] [Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A06"] [WhiteElo "2696"] [BlackElo "2730"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,26,20,20,20,11,35,12,4,-10,17,-9,17,16,2,13,28,23,23,25,29,29,19,33,33,16,23,32,62] Keymer? He wins again, of course! This brought him into the tie for first as well.} 1. Nf3 d5 2. e3 c5 3. b3 Nf6 4. Bb2 a6 5. c4 e6 6. Be2 Nc6 7. cxd5 exd5 8. O-O d4 9. exd4 cxd4 10. Re1 Be7 11. Na3 O-O 12. Nc4 Bf5 13. Nce5 $146 (13. Nfe5 Nb4 14. d3 b5 15. Nd2 Rc8 16. Rc1 Qd5 17. Bf3 Qd6 18. Ba3 Rxc1 19. Qxc1 Rc8 20. Qd1 Bf8 21. g4 Be6 22. Qe2 Rc2 23. Rc1 Rxc1+ 24. Bxc1 Nxa2 25. Bb2 Nc3 26. Qe1 Nfd5 27. h4 Nf4 28. g5 Bf5 {0-1 Potkin,V (2571)-Najer,E (2654) Moscow Smyslov Region Group Cup blitz 2021 (10)}) 13... d3 $6 14. Nxc6 bxc6 (14... dxe2 15. Qxe2 bxc6 16. Qxe7 $16) 15. Bf1 $16 {Black's d-pawn looks impressive, but since White can work around it the more important pawn is the sickly c-pawn.} Re8 16. Rc1 Rc8 17. Ne5 Qd5 18. Nc4 Bc5 19. Bxf6 gxf6 20. Rxe8+ $6 (20. Ne3 $142 {was the right way.}) 20... Rxe8 21. Ne3 Bxe3 22. fxe3 Be4 $11 {/?} 23. Qg4+ Kh8 (23... Kf8 $142) 24. Qf4 Kg7 25. Rc4 Bg6 $6 (25... c5 $1) 26. Qd4 $1 $16 Qa5 27. Qc3 $1 Qxa2 28. Bxd3 Bxd3 29. Qxd3 $16 {/+- Material is still equal, but it won't remain that way for long. Black has a weak king and five isolated pawns; these are not the secrets of a long life.} Rb8 $2 ({Black should have tried} 29... h5 {, keeping White's rook off g4, or}) (29... Qa1+ 30. Qf1 (30. Kf2 $2 Re5 $14) 30... Qe5) 30. Rg4+ Kh8 31. Rh4 $18 f5 32. Qxf5 Qa1+ 33. Kf2 Qg7 34. Rxh7+ (34. Rg4 $1 Qb2 35. Rd4 $1 {won straight away, but Keymer's way was good enough.}) 34... Qxh7 35. Qe5+ Qg7 36. Qxb8+ Kh7 37. Qf4 {Some queen endings can be long, grueling, and frustrating; this won't be one of them.} c5 38. Qh4+ Kg8 39. Qg3 $1 Qxg3+ 40. hxg3 c4 {A mere bluff - even if White's king weren't in time to catch the a-pawn, 41.b4 would be good enough.} 41. bxc4 a5 42. Ke2 a4 43. Kd3 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.28"] [Round "13.1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Maghsoodloo, Parham"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B67"] [WhiteElo "2859"] [BlackElo "2719"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,55,20,19,44,40,71,66,48,26,33,42,38,54,48,37,60,37,35,21,21,21,17,34,47,24,32,41,45,56,66,65,62,61,58,47,44,40,34,36,36,45,51,16,37,3,61,69,69,51,238,391,1092,1129,1507,1571,1590,1616] Carlsen entered the last round in a three-way tie for first. Maghsoodloo was half a point behind, so realistically he'd need a win to make the podium.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 {A little risky, but a good option for a must-win situation.} 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 a6 8. O-O-O Bd7 9. f3 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 Be7 11. Kb1 b5 (11... Qc7 {is the other major option.}) 12. h4 Rb8 ({Again,} 12... Qc7 {is more usual.}) 13. g4 b4 14. Ne2 a5 15. Ng3 $16 Qc7 16. Be3 Rc8 17. Rh2 ({The engine offers the nice} 17. Ba6 $1 {, as} Qxc2+ 18. Ka1 $18 {is fantastic for White, who is ready to chase Black's queen with Rc1 or to mush on with his attack starting with g5.}) 17... d5 18. e5 O-O 19. Ba6 (19. g5 $1 Ne8 20. h5 $16) 19... Ra8 (19... Rb8 $142) 20. Bd3 $16 {/+-} Rfc8 $2 (20... Ne8 {isn't beautiful, but it's the best Black has.}) 21. Qf4 $1 Ne8 22. g5 $1 $18 {Black's position is abysmal: no space, no counterplay, and (soon) no king.} Bc5 23. Bxc5 (23. h5 $142) 23... Qxc5 24. h5 Bb5 (24... Qe7 $142) 25. Bxh7+ $1 {Finishing in style.} (25. g6 {also wins easily.}) 25... Kxh7 26. g6+ fxg6 27. Qf7 $1 (27. hxg6+ Kxg6 28. Ne4 $1 {also leads to a speedy mate.}) 27... g5 28. h6 $1 {Mating. Black can delay mate only by taking twice on c2, which is otherwise pointless. With the win, Carlsen guaranteed himself at least a tie for first, and it would be up to Artemiev and Keymer to try to catch back up.} 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.28"] [Round "13.2"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Artemiev, Vladislav"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C88"] [WhiteElo "2766"] [BlackElo "2701"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,65,20,19,19,19,19,8,17,-2,-2,0,21,7,3,3,3,-8,4,9,35,-8,10,-18,31,34,24,27,31,52,41,41,38,41,68,65,65,58,26,9,9,-2,46,21,30,48,49,60,67,65,43,60,51,54,79,81,216,210,275,281,399,422,423,458,454,511,29995,29996] If Artemiev could win with Black, he'd finish in a tie for first with Carlsen (and Keymer, if he also won). A nice opportunity, but not the easiest possible opponent.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4 Bb7 9. d3 Re8 10. Bd2 b4 11. c3 bxc3 $146 12. Nxc3 $14 Rb8 13. Rc1 h6 14. Nd5 Bf8 15. h3 Ba8 16. Bc3 d6 17. Nxf6+ Qxf6 18. Bc4 Nb4 19. a5 c5 20. Nh2 {looking to build an attack with moves like Re3-g3, Qh5, and Ng4.} Qd8 $6 (20... d5 $1) 21. Qh5 $6 (21. Ng4 $1 $16 {was better, aiming to prevent ...d5.}) 21... d5 $1 22. exd5 Bxd5 (22... g6 $142 23. Qg4 Bxd5 24. Rxe5 Rxe5 25. Bxe5 h5 26. Qf4 Rc8 $11 {/?}) 23. Rxe5 Bxc4 (23... Rxe5 $142 24. Bxe5 Rb7 $11) 24. dxc4 (24. Rxe8 $142 Qxe8 25. dxc4 $16) 24... Qxa5 $6 (24... Rxe5 $142 25. Bxe5 Rb7 $14) 25. Ng4 $16 Qb6 26. Rd1 $1 Rbd8 $2 (26... Red8 $16 {was better, avoiding the tactic in the game.}) (26... Qg6 $16 {was also preferable.}) 27. Rd7 $1 Rxd7 28. Rxe8 $18 Rd8 29. Ne5 $1 {Maybe this is what Artemiev missed? Black can't defend both f7 and the rook on d8.} f6 30. Qf7+ Kh7 31. Nd7 Rxd7 32. Qxd7 Bd6 33. Qf5+ (33. Qf5+ g6 34. Qd7+ Be7 35. Qxe7#) 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.28"] [Round "13.3"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Keymer, Vincent"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C84"] [WhiteElo "2737"] [BlackElo "2696"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "130"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,130,20,19,19,19,19,17,23,-2,14,14,11,1,19,31,18,-18,34,27,42,51,36,44,37,14,13,11,64,64,58,55,61,59,59,27,60,3,24,-15,-13,12,26,27,-14,-13,-17,-44,35,19,24,15,0,21,10,20,42,42,28,16,49,53,52,30,6,6,9,9,4,-32,-64,-89,-37,-40,-22,-66,-68,-66,-67,-152,-129,-76,-50,-40,-19,-18,0,-8,-61,-43,-71,-71,-102,-56,-56,-99,-108,-111,-111,-111,-48,-32,-58,-20,-94,-94,-8,-7,-6,-6,-5,-4,-4,-6,-5,-7,-5,-5,-4,-4,-4,-4,-4,-4,-3,-3,-3,-2,0,-2,0,0,0] If the amazing Keymer managed to win this game, he would have tied for first with Carlsen - and won on tiebreak, I think. (He lost their head-to-head game, but that's the fourth tiebreaker. The first is Buchholz Cut 1, and Keymer came out ahead there despite his lower score. The only issue is whether defeating MVL would have harmed that tiebreaker to the point where Carlsen came out ahead. Those of you who know this tiebreaker well are asked to chime in and straighten out my confusion on this matter.) Anyway, Keymer played a great game for a long time, slowly outplaying MVL and obtaining a winning position. Only at the very end did the win slip. So close!} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a3 Na5 9. Ba2 c5 10. Nc3 Be6 11. Bg5 O-O 12. b4 Nc6 13. Nd5 Bxd5 14. exd5 Nd4 15. bxc5 Nxf3+ 16. Qxf3 dxc5 17. a4 Ne8 18. Bxe7 Qxe7 19. axb5 axb5 20. Qe3 Nf6 21. Bb3 Qd6 22. Rxa8 Rxa8 23. Re1 Re8 24. c4 b4 25. f4 e4 26. Bc2 g5 27. dxe4 gxf4 28. e5 fxe3 29. exd6 Ra8 30. Bf5 Ne8 31. d7 Nd6 32. Rxe3 Kf8 33. Bd3 Rd8 34. Rh3 Rxd7 35. Rxh7 Ra7 36. Rh8+ Ke7 37. Kf2 Ra2+ 38. Ke3 Rxg2 39. h4 Rg3+ 40. Ke2 Rh3 41. h5 b3 42. Rb8 b2 43. Kd2 Rxh5 44. Rxb2 Rh2+ 45. Kc3 Rxb2 46. Kxb2 Kf6 47. Kc3 Ke5 48. Kd2 Kd4 49. Ke2 f5 50. Kd2 f4 51. Ke2 f3+ 52. Kd2 {Here's the key moment. Black is winning, but it's not obvious how he finishes the job. He can't take on c4, as White's d-pawn will promote after the pieces are traded, and as we'll see ...f2 won't win either. So what does he do?} f2 $2 ({What Black needs to do is waste a move, so his king can make progress.} 52... Nf7 53. Bf1 Ke4 54. Bh3 {Now the knight goes back - for now - and Black's king penetrates more deeply. White's position cannot be saved. For example:} Nd6 55. Bf1 Kf4 56. Kd1 Ke3 57. Ke1 Ne4 58. Kd1 Kf2 59. Bh3 Nd6 $19) 53. Bf1 $1 Nxc4+ 54. Ke2 $1 Kxd5 55. Kxf2 Kd4 56. Bh3 Kd3 57. Be6 Ne5 58. Ke1 Nf3+ 59. Kd1 Nd4 60. Bg8 Nb5 61. Kc1 Nc3 62. Bh7+ Kd4 63. Bg8 Nd5 64. Kd2 (64. Bxd5 {is also possible, as White obtains the distant opposition with} Kxd5 65. Kd1 $11) 64... c4 65. Bxd5 Kxd5 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.28"] [Round "13.4"] [White "Dubov, Daniil"] [Black "Fedoseev, Vladimir3"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D43"] [WhiteElo "2708"] [BlackElo "2688"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "36"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,36,20,20,20,20,30,15,35,24,32,2,32,24,27,27,23,8,49,40,34,22,12,12,42,30,76,64,53,41,51,18,36,33,32,32,-3,-2,3] Dubov and Fedoseev are countrymen and possibly friends, but had either of them won that player would have finished third or maybe even second. Of course they wouldn't have known that before the round, but it wasn't impossible to suppose that a win could put that player on the podium.} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 Nd7 8. Be2 Qd8 9. O-O Be7 10. Qc2 O-O 11. Rac1 a6 12. Rfd1 Ra7 13. Bd3 b6 14. Ne2 Bd6 15. a3 Qe7 16. Ng3 Rc7 17. Qe2 dxc4 18. Bxc4 b5 1/2-1/2